Course Details in 2025/26 Session

Module Title	LH Modern American Poetry
School	Eng, Drama, & Creative Studies
Department	English Literature
Module Code	09 29542
Module Lead	Rona Cran
Level	Honours Level
Credits	20
Semester	Semester 2
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions	None
Contact Hours	Lecture-10 hours Seminar-20 hours Guided independent study-170 hours Total: 200 hours
Exclusions
Description	cultural location for American poetry (the where, the when, and the how it was written), this module guides students in tracing some of the key developments in modern American poetry, enabling them to explore the traditions that took shape or broke down during the 20th century, and providing them with a critical and historical understanding of some of the most representative and remarkable poems produced during the period. Indicative topics include: the ways in which poetry engages with history, radical discoveries of modern art, the terrors of modern warfare, the rise of feminism, the transformative power of science, queer urban enclaves, and the pull of mystical religions, complex theories, and modern philosophies. Discussion and debate will also be central to every seminar – poetry is an expansive site of interpretation best approached in an environment in which multiple ideas can exist alongside one another simultaneously. Throughout, we will engage in provocative readings of poems and their contexts that will equip and motivate students for further exploration, and provide an exciting introduction to one of the most stimulating bodies of literature written during the last century. The module will trace the development of modern American poetics in a broadly chronological fashion, in order to establish patterns of influence and developments in poetic form and genre. An indicative list of poets might include Wallace Stevens, William Carlos Williams, Marianne Moore, Hart Crane, Langston Hughes, Allen Ginsberg, Yusef Komunyakaa, Frank O’Hara, John Ashbery, Elizabeth Bishop, Ted Berrigan, Bernadette Mayer, Anne Waldman, Eileen Myles, Sylvia Plath, John Berryman, Charles Bernstein, Susan Howe, Claudia Rankine, and Rita Dove.
Learning Outcomes	By the end of the module students should be able to: demonstrate an extensive knowledge of, and make informed connections between, the work of a range of modern American poets discuss the ways in which social/cultural/political contexts shaped modern American poetry assess the range of poetic techniques, forms, and themes that have helped define modern American poetry undertake individual research pertaining to the module material, and demonstrate critical engagement with the most up-to-date scholarship on relevant issues.
Assessment	29542-01 : 1,000 Word Reflective Writing : Coursework (25%) 29542-02 : 3,000 Word Essay : Coursework (75%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	2500 word essay (70%) 1000 word assignment (30%) Reassessment: Resubmission of failed component(s)
Other
Reading List